“You were protected?”
Lana turned to see Jayson standing once again in the front door entrance way. Why was he so upset?
“Of course I was. Why are you so fucking pissed at me?” Lana yelled at Jayson.
“I’m not,” Jayson answered calmly. “I’m angry at fate. I missed out on seven years with you and our kids and had we been able to follow through four years ago, then we might have been together for those four years. I would have been there with you and our kids way before now.”
“Jayson!” was all Lana could say.
She walked over to where he stood in the doorway and wrapped her arms around him. She hated what she was about to admit to him.
“Fate worked the way it was supposed to. There is no guarantee we would have worked things out four years ago. Yes, you would have seen me. Yes, we would have had words, or I could have iced you out completely. I can honestly say I may not have told you about Jay or Dani. There is a reason I have the nickname Ice. I earned it with how I am at work. I honestly believe fate knew that, and it happened the way it did for a reason. We both still had a lot of growing up to do.”
“Lana, do you have any other family members here?” Ryan asked out of the blue.
“No. My parents were only kids like I was. Why?”
Lana moved to turn toward Ryan, but Jayson kept his arms wrapped around her from behind. She could feel him vibrating behind her.
When she saw the confused look on Rocky’s, Swift’s, and her Sgt’s face, she knew something was wrong. But she never expected Ryan’s next statement.
“Each one of these girls have similar features that closely resemble you.”
Jayson’s universe tilted at his brother’s statement. He thought back to the photos he’d looked at and suddenly he realized his brother was right. The only ones that had been killed looked nothing like Lana or the girls they hadn’t found yet.
“Pull up the photos of the girls they killed,” Jayson quietly requested, praying he was wrong.
“Hold up. Hollywood, go back on to the files of the first several girls that went missing. Do they have the same brand that showed up on the Miller girl?” Lana interrupted Jayson.
“No,” Hollywood answered matter-of-factly.
“The branding didn’t show up on the bodies until late last month,” Ryan advised the whole team.
“Around the time Dad stopped his chemo and went into hospice. He was there for exactly a month, according to Crystal.”
“The girls that were killed didn’t have any kind of resemblance to Lana.” Swift looked over the photos.
“Cullen, call your contact. I’m calling mine. Angel never informed anyone of any moves or changes lately,” Lana ordered, pulling out her phone.
Jayson watched as both women pulled out their phones and made their calls. His head was spinning at everything that had just happened in the last several hours.
Lana was still connected to the intelligence community, still considered Army, even if it was in the reserves, and someone was going after girls they considered looking like Lana did years ago. Then they killed the ones they deemed not worthy or looking like their main target.
The thought someone wanted to cause harm to the mother of his kids, the owner of his heart and soul, made his heart seize. They needed to figure out who was behind this shit, and fast.
Peter opened his front door and saw the imposing figure standing there, waiting. He’d known it was only a matter of time before he’d received a visit once word got out about his suspension.
“Boss finally deemed I was worth the time or the visit?” Peter snarked as he turned his back on his visitor and walked away from the door.
“You’re being watched. Physically and electronically. The boss isn’t stupid enough or desperate enough to show their hand just yet. There’s a reason they’ve stayed in the shadows this long.”
Peter rolled his eyes as he sat down at the table where he’d been eating when the knock on his front door came. He knew who ran the show and who thought they ran the show. He knew more than people assumed he did.
“So, if I’m being watched, why are you here? Aren’t they afraid of you being followed or looked into for visiting me?”
“No. I’m your babysitter today. The other nitwit called out. Bad case of the shits from bad Chinese food, apparently.”
Peter laughed and shook his head. “Ole man is making moves. I did what he wanted and pointed him toward the bitch. Jayson’s bitch and her crew had me taken off of the case. What more can I do?”
